Jeanneau’s line of Sun Odyssey family cruising boats has been at the core of its identity as a mass-production boatbuilder for several decades now. In introducing this latest iteration of the SO brand, which at 44ft is right in the strike zone of many buyers, Jeanneau has ...read more
Our whistle-stop tour of French multihull builders begins in Bordeaux, famous first and foremost for its viticulture and also as the home of Lagoon Catamarans. If you’ve never experienced a major boatbuilding operation in its pomp, the row of aircraft hangar-sized buildings that ...read more
With this, the fifth model in Catalina’s “5” series of cruising boats, head designer Gerry Douglas has taken a second bite at the competitive 40-42ft market segment. The original Catalina 42 went through several iterations to become one of the most successful boats ever in this ...read more
It seems that every time I walk into a boatyard I inevitably find myself smitten by some under-loved (read derelict) classic beauty sitting forlornly off in a corner. Hmmm, I think, I could buy her for a song and with a little elbow grease and some TLC, she will be ready to go. ...read more
Here is a sad truth relating to older boats: the more desirable the piece of equipment you want to install, the harder it is to remove its predecessor. Eyeing the scarred, ugly genoa sheet tracks on our project Norlin 34 plastic classic, I had the feeling I was in for a ...read more
European designers and builders do a great job of producing smaller boats that look like scaled-down grand prix racers—minimal overhangs, chines, wedge-shaped hulls, twin rudders, square-headed mainsails—but attempts to introduce such boats to the U.S. market have usually failed ...read more
Cruising Multihull 31-40ft Bavaria Open 40 Known for its monohulls, Bavaria recently acquired French catamaran builder Nautitech and enters the multihull market with the new Open 40, a boat that has been making some serious waves at the many boat shows where it appeared this ...read more
Cruising Monohull 41-50ft Italia13.98 According to Italia Yachts, the goal with the 13.98 was to create a “luxury cruiser” in which performance is a part of the “luxury equation,” and the company has lived up to that ambition and then some. Above decks, the Italia 13.98 boasts ...read more
Flagship Jeanneau64 The French builder’s new flagship is much more than just a scaled-up version of its smaller boats. Jeanneau’s production maestro Erik Stromberg spent years plotting the creation of this boat with yacht designer Philippe Briand and interior-design maven ...read more
By Nigel Calder, Christopher White, Adam Cort, Charles J. Doane, Zuzana Prochazka & Tom Dove Every year’s Best Boats competition brings at least a few surprises, but the class of 2016 has provided more than any other. For one thing, multihulls have figured more prominently than ...read more
It would be hard to imagine a greater diversity of modern design styles than those comprising the SAIL Magazine Best Boats class of 2015. From a cutting-edge carbon cat to an aluminum sloop expressly designed to nudge aside icebergs, the winners of this year’s Best Boats contest ...read more
A few months ago, SAIL ran a story in which we considered exactly what it is that makes for a great small boat. And as fate would have it, the Topaz Argo from the UK’s Topper International meets an awful lot of the standards we came up with. Fast, well mannered, easy to sail and ...read more
We don’t often have ties in our Best Boats competition, but with two very different and equally exciting boats in the 30ft-and-under performance category, we just couldn’t go with a single winner. The first of the two is the C&C 30. If you’ve been racing sailboats for a while, ...read more
Quorning Boats of Denmark has been absent from American boat shows for several years, and it’s good to have them back, especially with something as special as the new Dragonfly 32. A refined, swift trimaran that reminds us how elegant a performance multihull can be, this boat ...read more
Danish builder X-Yachts has long been renowned for its elegant, sweet-sailing racer-cruisers. Some builders of such yachts try to tweak them more toward the cruising side of the equation by simply adding weight and wood trim in the accommodation spaces. But X-Yachts started with ...read more
After a lifetime of roaming the planet aboard a series of boats named Aventura, bluewater-sailing guru and author Jimmy Cornell turned to French builder Garcia Yachts to develop the boat of his dreams. His latest Aventura, hull #1 in Garcia’s new line of adventure cruisers, is ...read more
We had little trouble choosing the Gunfleet 58 as the SAIL Flagship for 2015. A thoughtfully designed, carefully constructed and beautifully detailed vessel, this is what a modern luxury sailing yacht should be. Designer Tony Castro gave the boat an efficient hull form with a ...read more
Experience shows in this big performance cruiser Following in the footsteps of the Sun Odyssey 509, the Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 469 incorporates much of what the veteran French boatbuilder has learned in developing the latest iteration of this venerable performance-cruiser line, ...read more
Step aboard the Xp 44 and the first thing you might find yourself wondering is: what’s not to love? This mid-40-foot racer-cruiser is designed to deliver decades of racing and cruising pleasure while offering a wealth of the kind of design features sailors have long since come ...read more
Gunboat catamarans are known for their sleek lines and speed. Owners take pride in sailing their boats, and the engines are used primarily for maneuvering and intermittent auxiliary propulsion-; they are rarely used for extended motoring. The resulting combination of high ...read more
Over 65 feet you’re getting into big boat territory, and when you start talking about a catamaran with more than 31 feet of beam, as is the case with the Fountaine Pajot Victoria 67, there’s little doubt you’re dealing with a “flagship.” With an apartment-size saloon and ...read more
The Lagoon 39 was a favorite among the SAIL judges for a variety of reasons, including its innovative design, sound construction, good systems and fine sailing qualities, all topped off by the fact of its simply being a handsome vessel. When Lagoon hired VPLP design to create a ...read more
Talk about timing! No sooner does Oracle Team USA stage a comeback for the ages than the veteran UK sportboat and dinghy builder RS unveils a performance beach cat with wave-piercing bows just like those on an AC72! The RS 16 is available in three flavors: “Club” (mainsail only) ...read more
